More Special People

I've done a lot of projects for my art classes. But I haven't really loved any of them. I liked most of them well enough, but... it wasn't fun for me. I wasn't feeling it. It was just... work.

I don't think I'm very good at people (as I've said in previous posts), but there is one thing I think I'm good at.
Special people.
My favorite pieces... are of people I love.

Like my sisters (Eliza and Aria)

Myself (I guess)

My father

Eliza

So for my work this month, I wanted to do it again. 

This picture pretty much melted my heart.
But it's a little fuzzy. And... I wanted to try. 

So I started with a sketch. It's not supposed to be detailed like this, it's supposed to come from the paint.

...But I was scared. SO scared. I couldn't trace it, I couldn't project it or cheat. It was just me, trying my best, and hoping that it'd work out.

And it worked out. It was beautiful. I'd done it. And then comes the next worst fear: I knew I'd ruin it if I painted it, as I had done before. But it was already on watercolor paper and... I was going for it. 

Eliza's tan. Melissa is Snow White.

The dress

THE DRESS (and lips, those were a little nerve wracking.)

Fine details freak me out. I've never been really good at them. I never really knew which brushes to use or what to do and it generally just freaks me out. But. This time it worked. And I LOVE Melissa's face.

Speaking about detail work, HER HAIR. I love it. It's great. 

And I've never been this successful with watercolor.

Melissa's hair is pretty great too, but in a different way. Snow White and Cinderella.

That's actually a whole lot of pink, much more than I thought.

You can't really tell the difference in this one (other than her watch), but...

I added white highlights from the flash. 

Melissa's pajama pants.
This is when I REALLY debated doing a background. I didn't want to do the couch. (I didn't think I could make it look good.)  But they looked kind-of weird just floating there. 

So I added a background. I like it well enough, except for Melissa's leg, which now looks totally out of place. 

So I might crop it to here. 

And I'm very proud of it. Sure, it's supposed to be a month-long project, and I finished it in a weekend because for the first time in forever....I was excited about art. I was doing things right. I was making something that mattered. And THAT is why I love this.


Small realization. I haven't done that many pieces of my family. But THREE of them have Eliza in them, and NONE of them are of David (poor kid). Part of this is because I have an irrational fear of drawing males. Maybe I'll fix that. But right now... I am happy.